Displaying objects using group and object priority levels

ABSTRACT

A display device which displays a plurality of objects on a screen has a group configuration storage section for storing association information indicating the association between each of the plurality of objects and one of a plurality of groups, a group priority level storage section for storing group display priority levels which are priority levels for displaying each of the objects associated with one of the groups at the front of the objects associated with the other groups, an object priority level storage section for storing object display priority levels which are priority levels for displaying one of the objects associated with one of the groups at the front of the others, an object priority level changing section for changing the object display priority level while the association information is maintained, and a display section for displaying the plurality of objects according to the group display priority levels and the object display priority levels.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a display device, a display method, adisplay program and a recording medium. More particularly, the presentinvention relates to a display device, a display method, a displayprogram and a recording medium for displaying objects in an overlaidstate.

A window display device disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 3054120 enablessetting of each of window objects in a hierarchical rank whichrepresents the ordinal position of the window objects as numbered in thebackward direction.

However, there is a need to define hierarchical ranks of window objectson an object-by-object basis. Therefore, in a case where a plurality ofwindow objects relating to each other exist, it is not possible to setthem in the same hierarchical rank.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore a purpose of the present invention to provide a displaydevice, a display method, a display program and a recording medium whichmake it possible to solve the above-described problem. This purpose canbe achieved by a combination of features set forth in the independentclaims in the appended claims.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided adisplay device which displays a plurality of objects on a screen, thedisplay device having a group configuration storage section for storingassociation information indicating the association between each of theplurality of objects and one of a plurality of groups, a group prioritylevel storage section for storing group display priority levels whichare priority levels for displaying each of the objects associated withone of the groups at the front of the objects associated with the othergroups, an object priority level storage section for storing objectdisplay priority levels which are priority levels for displaying one ofthe objects associated with one of the groups at the front of theothers, an object priority level changing section for changing theobject display priority level while the association information ismaintained, and a display section for displaying the plurality ofobjects according to the group display priority levels and the objectdisplay priority levels.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda display method of displaying a plurality of objects on a screen, thedisplay method including a step of storing association informationindicating the association between each of the plurality of objects andone of a plurality of groups, a step of storing group display prioritylevels which are priority levels for displaying each of the objectsassociated with one of the groups at the front of the objects associatedwith the other groups, a step of storing object display priority levelswhich are priority levels for displaying one of the objects associatedwith one of the groups at the front of the others, a step of changingthe object display priority level while the association information ismaintained; and a step of displaying the plurality of objects accordingto the group display priority levels and the object display prioritylevels.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a display program executable by a computer to display aplurality of objects on a screen, the display program including a modulefor making the computer obtain association information indicating theassociation between each of the plurality of objects and one of aplurality of groups, a module for making the computer obtain groupdisplay priority levels which are priority levels for displaying each ofthe objects associated with one of the groups at the front of theobjects associated with the other groups, a module for making thecomputer obtain object display priority levels which are priority levelsfor displaying one of the objects associated with one of the groups atthe front of the others, a module for making the computer store theobject display priority levels and change the object display prioritylevel while the association information is maintained, and a module formaking the computer display the plurality of objects according to thegroup display priority levels and the object display priority levels.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a recording medium on which a display program executable by acomputer to display a plurality of objects on a screen is recorded, thedisplay program including a module for making the computer obtainassociation information indicating the association between each of theplurality of objects and one of a plurality of groups, a module formaking the computer obtain group display priority levels which arepriority levels for displaying each of the objects associated with oneof the groups at the front of the objects associated with the othergroups, a module for making the computer obtain object display prioritylevels which are priority levels for displaying one of the objectsassociated with one of the groups at the front of the others, a modulefor making the computer store the object display priority levels andchange the object display priority level while the associationinformation is maintained, and a module for making the computer displaythe plurality of objects according to the group display priority levelsand the object display priority levels.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

Some of the purposes of the invention having been stated, others willappear as the description proceeds, when taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a display device 10 whichrepresents a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of association information,object display priority levels, and group display priority levels storedin a group configuration storage section 100, an object priority levelstorage section 110, and a group priority level storage section 120;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operations of an input section 130, agroup rank changing section 140, a group configuration changing section160, a record update setting section 165, and an object priority levelchanging section 170;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the group configurationchanging section 160 and the record update setting section 165 when anew object is generated;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the operation of the display device 10displaying objects at the front in an in an overlaid state;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing operations performed by a user to change theoverlaid state of objects by operating the display device 10;

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the operation of the display device 10changing group display priority levels, object display priority levels,and association information respectively stored in the group prioritylevel storage section 120, the object priority level storage section110, and the group configuration storage section 100;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the operation of a group rank changingsection 140 in a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a functional block diagram of a display device in a thirdembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the operations of a group configurationchanging section 160 and an object selecting section 190 in the thirdembodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration of a displaydevice 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

While the present invention will be described more fully hereinafterwith reference to the accompanying drawings, in which a preferredembodiment of the present invention is shown, it is to be understood atthe outset of the description which follows that persons of skill in theappropriate arts may modify the invention here described while stillachieving the favorable results of the invention. Accordingly, thedescription which follows is to be understood as being a broad, teachingdisclosure directed to persons of skill in the appropriate arts, and notas limiting upon the present invention.

The present invention will be described with respect to embodimentsthereof. The present invention defined in the appended claims is notlimited to the embodiments described below, and all possiblecombinations of features of the present invention the present inventiondescribed with respect to the embodiments are not necessarilyindispensable to the means for solving the problem according to thepresent invention.

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a display device 10 whichrepresents a first embodiment of the present invention. The displaydevice 10 has an input section 130 for accepting an input from a user, agroup rank changing section 140 for changing group display prioritylevels, a group configuration changing section 160 for changingassociation information indicating associations between objects andgroups, an object display priority level changing section 170 forchanging object display priority levels, a group display priority levelstorage section 120 for storing group display priority levels, an objectdisplay priority level storage section 110 for storing object displaypriority levels, a group configuration storage section 100 for storingassociation information indicating associations between objects andgroups, a recording section 150 for storing group record information 154and identification information 158, a record update setting section 165for setting whether group record information 154 will be updatedaccording to a change in association information, and a display section180 for displaying objects according to group display priority levelsand object display priority levels.

The display device 10 displays a plurality of objects associated with aplurality of groups in an overlaid state. The display device 10 displaysa plurality of objects according to group display priority levels andobject display priority levels so that each of the objects is displayedat the front of some of the other objects lower in priority level. Thatis, the display device 10 displays, by referring to group displaypriority levels, all of objects associated with one group at the frontof objects associated with other groups lower in group display prioritylevel than the one group, and displays, by referring to object displaypriority levels, each of the objects associated with the one group atthe front of some of the other objects lower in object display prioritylevel.

The group configuration storage section 100 stores associationinformation indicating associations between a plurality of objects and aplurality of groups. When the group configuration storage section 100receives an instruction from the group configuration changing section160 to change association information, it updates the associationinformation. The group configuration storage section 100 providesassociation information to the group priority level storage section 120and the object priority level storage section 110 if necessary.

The object priority level storage section 110 stores object displaypriority levels. Object display priority levels are priority levels fordisplaying each of a plurality of objects associated with one group atthe front of some of the others. For example, one object associated withone group is displayed at the front of other objects associated with thesame group and lower in object display priority level that the oneobject. However, if only object display priority levels are referred to,it is indefinite whether the one object is displayed at the front ofother objects associated with other groups. When the object prioritylevel storage section 110 receives an instruction from the objectpriority level changing section 170 to change object display prioritylevels, it updates the object display priority levels. The objectpriority level storage section 110 obtains association information fromthe group configuration storage section 100 and identifies objectsassociated with a plurality of groups. Also, the object priority levelstorage section 110 provides object display priority levels to thedisplay section 180.

The group priority level storage section 120 stores group displaypriority levels. The group display priority levels are priority levelsfor displaying all of objects associated with one group at the front ofobjects associated with other groups. For example, one object associatedwith one group is displayed at the front of other objects associatedwith other groups lower in group display priority level. However, ifonly group display priority levels are referred to, it is indefinitewhether the one object is displayed at the front of other objectsassociated with the one group. When the group priority level storagesection 120 receives an instruction from the group rank changing section140 to change group display priority levels, it updates the groupdisplay priority levels. Also, the group priority level storage section120 obtains association information from the group configuration storagesection 100 and identifies groups to be displayed according to theassociation information. Also, the group priority level storage section120 provides group display priority levels to the display section 180.

The input section 130 accepts an input operation from a user. Forexample, in a case where the input section 130 accepts an objectpriority level changing operation, it transmits an object priority levelchanging instruction to the object priority level changing section 170.The input section 130 accepts, for example, a mouse clock as an objectpriority level changing operation. That is, a user can set the objectpriority level of a certain object to the highest level by clicking amouse on the object.

In a case where the input section 130 accepts a group configurationchanging operation from a user, it transmits a group configurationchanging instruction to the group configuration changing section 160.The input section 130 accepts, for example, an operation on aspecial-purpose application program for changing the group configurationas a group configuration changing operation. A group configurationchanging operation is different from an object priority level changingoperation.

In a case where the input section 130 accepts a group rank changingoperation from a user, it transmits a group rank changing instruction tothe group rank changing section 140. The input section 130 accepts, forexample, an operation on a special-purpose application program forchanging group ranks as a group rank changing operation. A group rankchanging operation is different from an object priority level changingoperation.

When a new object is generated, the input section 130 may enable a userto do input to determine to which one of a plurality of groups the newobject is associated. In this case, the input section 130 transmits tothe group configuration changing section 160 an instruction to associatethe new group with the group selected by the user. The input section 130may perform an operation for associating a new object to one of aplurality of groups by using a special-purpose application.

When the group rank changing section 140 receives an object prioritylevel changing instruction from the input section 130, it transmits tothe group priority level storage section 120 an instruction to changegroup display priority levels. The group rank changing section 140changes the group display priority levels stored in the group prioritylevel storage section 120 by transmitting this instruction to change thegroup display priority levels. As described above, the group rankchanging section 140 changes group display priority levels when theinput section 130 accepts a group rank changing operation different froman object priority level changing operation.

The recording section 150 is nonvolatile and has group recordinformation 154 and identification information 158. The recordingsection 150 obtains association information from the group configurationstorage section 100. The recording section 150 updates identificationinformation 158 and group record information 154 on the basis of aninstruction received from the record update setting section 165. Therecording section 150 provides identification information 158 and grouprecord information 154 to the group configuration changing section 160.

The recording section 150 may store, for example, a title uniquelydetermined with respect to each object or a file name associated witheach object as identification information 158. The recording section 150may store a class name, a method name or a procedure name of a programassociated with each object, and may store a name of a program by whichan object has been generated.

The recording section 150 stores, as group record information 154,information indicating association between identification information158 for identification of an object which has been displayed and a groupto which the group is associated. For example, the recording section 150stores information indicating association between a tile of an object,which is an example of identification information 158, and a group.

Therefore, even in a case where the display device 10 is rebootedbecause of occurrence of a fault therein, the recording section 150 canhold identification information 158 and group record information 154before the fault and provide them to the group configuration changingsection 160.

When the group configuration changing section 160 receives an objectpriority level change instruction from the input section 130, ittransmits to the group configuration storage section 100 an instructionto change association information. The group configuration changingsection 160 changes association information stored in the groupconfiguration storage section 100 by transmitting this instruction tochange the association information. The group configuration changingsection 160 also transmits to the record update setting section 165 aninstruction to update association information.

As described above, the group configuration changing section 160 changesassociation information stored in the group configuration storagesection 100 when the input section 130 accepts a group configurationchanging operation different from an object priority level changingoperation.

The operation of the group configuration changing section 160 when a newobject is generated will be described. The group configuration changingsection 160 makes a determination as to whether an instruction toassociate a new object with a group has been received from the inputsection 130. When receiving this instruction, the group configurationchanging section 160 associates a new objects with a group according tothis instruction. If the group configuration changing section 160 doesnot receive this instruction, it obtains group record information 154and identification information 158 from the recording section 150. Thegroup configuration changing section 160 makes a determination as towhether there is a certain relation between the object newly generatedand any of objects identified from identification information 158.“Certain relation” between an object and another object is, for example,coincidence between their titles or file names of the kind stored asidentification information. Alternatively, the relation may becoincidence between class names, methods names or procedure namesassociated with the objects, or may be coincidence between program namesdesignating programs by which the objects were generated.

If the group configuration changing section 160 determines that there isa certain relation between the newly-generated object and an objectidentified from identification information 158, it associates thenewly-generated object with the group with which the relating object isassociated by group record information 154. If the group configurationchanging section 160 determines that there is no certain relationbetween the newly-generated object and any of objects identified fromidentification information 158, it associates the newly-generated objectwith a group not highest in group display priority level.

The record update setting section 165 accepts from a user a setting asto whether group record information 154 will be updated. The recordupdate setting section 165 also receives from the group configurationchanging section 160 an instruction to update association information.When receiving this instruction, if a setting for updating group recordinformation 154 has been made, the record update setting section 165transmits to the recording section 150 an instruction to update grouprecord information 154.

The object priority level changing section 170 changes object displaypriority levels while association information is maintained. That is, inchanging object display priority levels, the object priority levelchanging section 170 does not require a user to change associationinformation or to newly make an object. When the object priority levelchanging section 170 receives from the input section 130 an instructionto change object priority levels, it transmits to the object prioritylevel storage section 110 an instruction to change object prioritylevels. The object priority level changing section 170 changes objectpriority levels stored in the object priority level storage section 110by transmitting this instruction to change the object display prioritylevels.

The display section 180 obtains group priority levels from the grouppriority level storage section 120 and object priority levels from theobject priority level storage section 110. The display section 180displays a plurality of objects according to the group priority levelsand the object priority levels. The display section 180 may display, asobjects, windows for display of outputs from programs. Also, the displaysection 180 may display, as objects, drawing object in drawing software,i.e., characters, lines, circles, rectangles, etc.

FIG. 2 is table showing an example of the structure of data stored inthe group configuration storage section 100, the object priority levelstorage section 110 and the group priority level storage section 120.Referring to FIG. 2, the group configuration storage section 100, theobject priority level storage section 110 and the group priority levelstorage section 120 are integral with each other. The kinds of datastored in these sections are collectively shown in one table. This tableis constituted by group names, group display priority levels, objectnames, and object display priority levels shown in this order from left.The association between group names and object names shown in this tableis an example of association information in accordance with the presentinvention. A group having a smaller group display priority level valueand an object having a smaller object display priority level value aredisplayed at the front of the others.

In the example shown in FIG. 2, a first object 210 and a second object220 are associated with a first group 202, while a third object 230, afourth object 240 and a fifth object 250 are associated with a secondgroup 204. The displayed objects are the first object 210, the secondobject 220, the third object 230, the fourth object 240, and the fifthobject positioned in this order from the front.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the operations of the input section 130, thegroup rank changing section 140, the group configuration changingsection 160, the record update setting section 165, and the objectdisplay priority level changing section 170. The input section 130 makesa determination as to whether an object priority level changingoperation has been accepted (S500). If the input section 130 determinesthat an object priority level changing operation has been accepted(S500: YES), the object display priority level changing section 170changes object priority levels (S510). The input section 130 makes adetermination as to whether a group rank changing operation has beenaccepted (S520). If the input section 130 determines that a group rankchanging operation has been accepted (S520: YES), the group rankchanging section 140 changes group display priority levels (S530). Theinput section 130 makes a determination as to whether a groupconfiguration changing operation has been accepted (S540). If the inputsection 130 determines that a group configuration changing operation hasbeen accepted (S540: YES), the group configuration changing section 160changes association information (S550). The record update settingsection 165 makes a determination as to which one of a setting to updategroup record information and a setting not to perform updating has beenmade (S560). If a setting to update group record information has beenmade in the record update setting section 165 (S560: YES, and S540:YES), the record update setting section 165 makes the recording section150 update group record information (S570).

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operations of the group configurationchanging section 160 and the record update setting section 165 when anew object is generated. When a new object is generated (S400), therecord update setting section 165 makes a determination as to whether anew object has been associated with a group according to an instructionfrom a user (S405). If the new object has not been associated with agroup according to an instruction from a user (S405: NO), the groupconfiguration changing section 160 makes a determination as to whetherthere is a certain relation between the newly-generated object and anobject identified from identification information (S410). If the groupconfiguration changing section 160 determines that there is a certainrelation between the newly-generated object and an object identifiedfrom identification information stored in the recording section 150(S410: YES), the group configuration changing section 160 associates thenewly-generated object with the group with which the relating object hasbeen associated by group record information in the recording section 150(S420). If group configuration changing section 160 determines thatthere is no certain relation (S410: NO), the group configurationchanging section 160 associates the newly-generated object with a groupother than the group highest in group display priority level (S430).Subsequently (after S420, after S430, S405: YES), the record updatesetting section 165 makes a determination as to which one of a settingto update group record information and a setting not to perform updatingis made (S440). If a setting to update group record information is madein the record update setting section 165 (S440: YES), the record updatesetting section makes the recording section 150 update group recordinformation (S450).

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the operation of the display device 10displaying objects at the front by overlaying the objects one onanother. In each of (A), (B), (C), and (D) of FIG. 5 is illustrated astate in which objects are displayed while being overlaid. Placement ofan object at a higher position as viewed in the figure represents astate where the object is displayed closer to the front, while placementof an object at a lower position represents a state where the object isdisplayed closer to the back. As shown in the sections of FIG. 5, thedisplay device 10 displays the first object 210, the second object 220,the third object 230, the fourth object 240 and the fifth object 250.The operation of the display device 10 will be described with respect tochanging the state shown in (A) of FIG. 5 into the state shown in (B),changing the state shown in (A) into the state shown in (C), andchanging the state shown in (A) into the state shown in (D) in thisorder.

Referring to (A) of FIG. 5, the first object 210A and the second object220A are associated with the first group 202A, while the third object230A, the fourth object 240A and the fifth object 250A are associatedwith the second group 204A. The first object 210A, the second object220A, the third object 230A, the fourth object 240A and the fifth object250A are displayed by being positioned in this order from the front.

In (B) of FIG. 5 is illustrated a state after the object displaypriority level changing section 170 has set the fifth object 250Ahighest in object display priority level (S10) from the state shown in(A) of FIG. 5. The operation shown in this section of FIG. 5 is anexample of the object priority level changing operation (S510) performedby the object priority level changing section 170 as shown in FIG. 3.The first object 210B and the second object 220B are associated with thefirst group 202B, while the fifth object 250B, the third object 230B andthe fourth object 240B are associated with the second group 204B. Thus,even if the object display priority level of the fifth object 250B ischanged, the fifth object 250B is not displayed at the front of thefirst object 210B and the second object 220B associated with the firstgroup 202B. As a result, the first object 210B, the second object 220B,the fifth object 250B, the third object 230B and the fourth object 240Bare displayed by being positioned in this order from the front.

That is, a user can temporarily refer to the fifth object 250B byoperating the display device 10 while displaying at the front the firstobject 210B and the second object 220B used for a main work purpose.

In (C) of FIG. 5 is illustrated a state after the third object 230A hasbeen associated with the first group 202A (S20) from the state shown in(A) of FIG. 5. The operation shown in this section of FIG. 5 is anexample of the association information changing operation (S550)performed by the group configuration changing section 160 as shown inFIG. 3. The third object 230C, the first object 210C, and the secondobject 220C are associated with the first group 202C, while the fourthobject 240C and the fifth object 250C are associated with the secondgroup 204C. Thus, the third object 230C can be displayed at the foremostposition by newly associating the third object 230C with the first group202C. Also, the third object 230C will not be displayed at the back ofthe fourth object 240C and the fifth object 250C associated with thesecond group 204C. As a result, the third object 230C, the first object210C, the second object 220C, the fourth object 240C and the fifthobject 250C are displayed by being positioned in this order from thefront.

That is, the user can operate the display device 10 so as to prevent thethird object 230C from being hidden behind the fourth object 240C or thefifth object 250C after the user has selected the third object for usein a main work purpose.

In (D) of FIG. 5 is illustrated a state after the group rank changingsection 140 has set the second group 204A highest in group displaypriority level (S30) from the state shown in (A) of FIG. 5. Theoperation shown in this section of FIG. 5 is an example of the groupdisplay priority level changing operation (S530) performed by the grouprank changing section 140 as shown in FIG. 3. The third object 230D, thefourth object 240C and the fifth object 250D are associated with thesecond group 204D, while the first object 210D and the second object220D are associated with the first group 202D. Thus, the group displayedat the front and the group displayed at the back can be replaced bychanging the group display priority levels of the first group 202D andthe second group 204D. As a result, the third object 230D, the fourthobject 240D, the fifth object 250D, the first object 210D and the secondobject 220D are displayed by being positioned in this order from thefront.

That is, the user can do work smoothly with the display device 10 bypreventing the object group associated with the second group 204D frombeing hidden behind the object group associated with the first group202D after the user has selected the object group associated with thesecond group 204D for use in a main work purpose.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing operations performed by a user to change theoverlaid state of objects by operating the display device 10. In each of(A), (B), (C), and (D) of FIG. 6 is illustrated a state in which objectsare displayed while being overlaid. The sections of FIG. 6 correspondrespectively to those of FIG. 5. Rectangular areas shown in overlappedstates in FIG. 6 represent an example of objects. Of these objects,those represented by the rectangular areas indicated by the thick lineare associated with a group of a higher group display priority level. Asshown in each section of FIG. 6, the display device 10 displays thefirst object 210, the second object 220, the third object 230, thefourth object 240 and the fifth object 250. Changes of display contentsfrom (A) to (B) of FIG. 6, from (A) to (C) of FIG. 6, and from (A) to(D) of FIG. 6 made by the display device 10 will be described in thisorder.

Referring to (A) of FIG. 6, the first object 210A and the second object220A are associated with the first group 202A, while the third object230A, the fourth object 240A and the fifth object 250A are associatedwith the second group 204A. The first object 210A, the second object220A, the third object 230A, the fourth object 240A and the fifth object250A are displayed by being positioned in this order from the front tothe back.

In (B) of FIG. 6 is illustrated a state after the object displaypriority level changing section 170 has set the fifth object 250Ahighest in object display priority level (S10) from the state shown in(A) of FIG. 6. The association between the objects and the first andsecond groups 202B and 204B is the same as in the case shown in (A) ofFIG. 6. The fifth object 250B is displayed at the front of the thirdobject 230B and the fourth object 240B and at the back of the firstobject 210B and the second object 220B.

In (C) of FIG. 6 is illustrated a state after the group configurationchanging section 160 has associated the third object 230A with the firstgroup 202A (S20) from the state shown in (A) of FIG. 6. Since the thirdobject 230C has been associated with the first group 202A in the highergroup display priority level, it is displayed at the front of the fourthobject 240C and the fifth object 250C.

In (D) of FIG. 6 is illustrated a state after the group rank changingsection 140 has set the second group 204A highest in group displaypriority level (S30) from the state shown in (A) of FIG. 6. Theassociation between the objects and the first and second groups 202D and204D is the same as in the case shown in (A) of FIG. 6. The third object230D, the fourth object 240D and the fifth object 250D are displayed atthe front of the first object 210D and the second object 220D.

FIG. 7 shows changes made by the display device 10 in group displaypriority levels, object display priority levels, and associationinformation respectively stored in the group priority level storagesection 120, the object priority level storage section 110, and thegroup configuration storage section 100. The structure shown in each ofthe sections (A) to (D) of FIG. 7 is the same as that shown in FIG. 2,and the description for it will not be repeated. The sections of FIG. 7correspond respectively to those of FIG. 5. Changes in data from (A) to(B) of FIG. 7, from (A) to (C) of FIG. 7, and from (A) to (D) of FIG. 7made by the display device 10 will be described in this order.

Referring to (A) of FIG. 7, the first object 210A and the second object220A are associated with the first group 202A, while the third object230A, the fourth object 240A and the fifth object 250A are associatedwith the second group 204A. The group display priority levels of thefirst group 202A and the second group 204A are 1 and 2, respectively.That is, all the objects associated with the first group 202A aredisplayed at the front of all the objects associated with the secondgroup 204A. In the first group 202A, the object display priority levelsof the first object 210A and the second object 220A are 1 and 2,respectively. Similarly, in the second group 204A, the object displaypriority levels of the third object 230A, the fourth object 240A, andthe fifth object 250A are 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Consequently, thefirst object 210A, the second object 220A, the third object 230A, thefourth object 240A and the fifth object 250A are displayed by beingpositioned in this order from the front.

In (B) of FIG. 7 is illustrated a state after the object displaypriority level changing section 170 has set the fifth object 250Ahighest in object display priority level (S10) from the state shown in(A) of FIG. 7. The association between the objects and the first andsecond groups 202B and 204B is the same as in the case shown in (A) ofFIG. 7. The group display priority levels of the first group 202B andthe second group 204B are the same as those shown in (A) of FIG. 7. Fromthe second group 204A, the object display priority levels of the fifthobject 250A, the third object 230A, and the fourth object 240A arechanged to 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Consequently, the fifth object250B is displayed at the front of the third object 230B and the fourthobject 240B and at the back of the first object 210B and the secondobject 220B.

In (C) of FIG. 7 is illustrated a state after the group configurationchanging section 160 has associated the third object 230A with the firstgroup 202A (S20) from the state shown in (A) of FIG. 7. The third object230C is newly associated with the first group 202C in the higher groupdisplay priority level. In the first group 202C, the object displaypriority levels of the third object 230C, the first object 210C and thesecond object 220C are changed to 1, 2, and 3, respectively.Consequently, the third object 230C is displayed at the front of thefirst object 210C and the second object 220C.

In (D) of FIG. 7 is illustrated a state after the group rank changingsection 140 has set the second group 204A highest in group displaypriority level (S30) from the state shown in (A) of FIG. 7. Theassociation between the objects and the first and second groups 202D and204D is the same as in the case shown in (A) of FIG. 7. The groupdisplay priority levels of the first group 202D and the second group204D are changed to 2 and 1, respectively. Consequently, the thirdobject 230D, the fourth object 240D and the fifth object 250D associatedwith the second group 204D are displayed at the front of the firstobject 210D and the second object 220D associated with the first group202D.

As is apparent from the foregoing, the display device 10 can changeobject display priority levels by the function of the object prioritylevel changing section 170 while holding information indicating theassociation between groups and objects. Therefore a user can smoothlyperform intended processing by operating the display device 10 so thatobjects to be used for the processing are associated with a group higherin display priority level to prevent the objects from being hiddenbehind other objects lower in display priority level.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the operation of the group rank changingsection 140 in a second embodiment of the present invention. The samefunctional block diagram as FIG. 1 can be referred to for thedescription of this embodiment, and this embodiment differs from thefirst embodiment only in operation. The operation of this embodimentwill be described with respect to a point of difference. The group rankchanging section 140 makes a determination as to whether a user selectsan object (S610). If the operator selects an object (S610: YES), thegroup rank changing section 140 changes the group display priority levelof the group with which the object is associated so that the groupdisplay priority level is higher than those of all the other groups(S620).

FIG. 9 is a functional block diagram of a display device 10 in a thirdembodiment of the present invention. The display device 10 of thisembodiment is constructed by adding an object selecting section 190 tothe display device of the first embodiment.

The input section 130 accepts a mouse clock as an operation for changingan object. That is, an object designated by a mouse click is regarded asselected. When the input section 130 accepts this selecting operationfrom a user, it transmits a first instruction to the object selectingsection 190.

The input section 130 accepts an input made by using a keyboard shortcutkey as a priority operation for associating the object with a grouphighest in group display priority ran. When accepting the priorityoperation from the user, the input section 130 transmits a secondinstruction to the group configuration changing section 160.

When the object selecting section 190 receives the first instructionfrom the user through the input section 130, it selects the objectaccording to the instruction from the user. The object selecting section190 may select this object when some object is operated by the user fora different purpose and when the first instruction is received. Theobject selecting section 190 transmits information for identification ofthis selected object to the group configuration changing section 160.

The group configuration changing section 160 receives information foridentification of the objected selected by the object selecting section190. When group configuration changing section 160 receives the secondinstruction from the input section 130, it associates the selectedobject with the group highest in group display priority level.

That is, the group configuration changing section 160 associates theobject selected by a mouse click made by depressing the keyboardshortcut key with the group highest in group display priority level.

In this embodiment, as is apparent from the foregoing, a user canassociates a target object with a group of the highest group displaypriority level by a simple operation.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the operations of the group configurationchanging section 160 and the object selecting section 190 in the thirdembodiment of the present invention. The object selecting section 190selects an object according to a first instruction from a user (S300).The group configuration changing section 160 makes a determination as towhether a second instruction has been received from the user (S310). Ifthe second instruction has been received from the user (S310: YES), thegroup configuration changing section 160 associates the selected objectwith a group of the highest group display priority level (S320).

FIG. 11 shows an example of a hardware configuration of the displaydevice 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Thefunctions of the display device 10 according to the embodiment arerealized by the cooperation of a computer having a CPU 700, a read onlymemory (ROM) 702, a random access memory (RAM) 704, a communicationinterface (communication I/F) 706, a hard disk drive 710, a videocontroller 730, a display 740, an input/output interface (input/outputI/F) 750, a keyboard 752, and a mouse 754, and a program which runs onthe computer. The display device 10 may also have a floppy disk (FD)drive 712 and/or a compact disk-read only memory (CD-ROM) drive 716.

The program for realizing the display device 10 has a group rankchanging module, a group configuration changing module, an objectpriority level changing module, an object selecting module, a group rankstorage module, an object priority level storage module, a groupconfiguration storage module, and a display module. These modules areprograms for making the computer as group rank changing section 140,group configuration changing section 160, object priority level changingsection 170, object selecting section 190, group priority level storagesection 120, object priority level storage section 110, groupconfiguration storage section 100, and display section 180.

The above-described program may be stored in an external storage medium.As such a storage medium, a floppy disk 714, a CD-ROM 718, an opticalrecording medium such as a digital versatile disk (DVD) or a phasechange rewritable disk (PD), a magnetic recording medium such asMiniDisc (MD), a tape medium, a semiconductor memory such as an IC cardmay be used. Also, the program may be provided to the program displaydevice 10 through a network 720 by using as a recording medium a storagedevice such as a hard disk or a RAM provided in a server systemconnected to a private communication network or the internet.

While the embodiments has been described with respect to embodimentsthereof, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited tothat referred to in the description of the embodiments. Various changeor modifications may be made in the described embodiments. As isapparent from the appended claims, modes of the present inventionincluding such changes and modifications are included in the technicalscope of the invention.

According to the above-described embodiments, a display device, displaymethod, a display program and a recording medium set forth in thefollowing terms can be realized.

In the drawings and specifications there has been set forth a preferredembodiment of the invention and, although specific terms are used, thedescription thus given uses terminology in a generic and descriptivesense only and not for purposes of limitation.

1. Apparatus comprising: a display device which displays a plurality ofobjects on a screen; a group configuration storage section for storingassociation information indicating the association between each of saidplurality of objects and one of a plurality of groups; a groupconfiguration changing section for changing said association informationstored in said group configuration storage section; a group prioritylevel storage section for storing group display priority levels whichare priority levels for displaying each of said objects associated withone of said groups at the front of the objects associated with the othergroups; a group rank changing section for changing said group displaypriority levels stored in said group priority level storage section inresponse to a user input; an object priority level storage section forstoring object display priority levels which are priority levels fordisplaying one of the objects associated with one of said groups at thefront of the others; an object priority level changing section forchanging said object display priority level while said associationinformation is maintained; a display section for displaying saidplurality of objects according to said group display priority levels andsaid object display priority levels; and a recording section for storinga record of said objects displayed by said display section, and theassociation between the objects and the groups at the time of display,wherein as each new object is generated, said group configurationchanging section associates said new object with the group with whichone of said objects having a certain relation with the new object insaid group record information stored in said recording section isassociated, said recording section including a record update settingsection for providing a setting as to whether said group recordingsection will be updated, said group rank changing section beingresponsive to selection of a displayed object by the user to heightenthe display priority level of the group with which the selected objectis associated.
 2. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said displaysection displays a window for displaying an output from a program as oneof said objects.
 3. Apparatus according to claim 1, further comprisingan object selecting section for selecting one of the plurality ofobjects according to a first instruction from a user, wherein said groupconfiguration changing section associates said one of the objects withone of the groups highest in group display priority level when itreceives a second instruction from the user.
 4. Apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein said group configuration changing section associates anewly-generated object with one of said plurality of groups selected bya user.
 5. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said groupconfiguration changing section associates a newly-generated object withone of the plurality of groups other than said group highest in groupdisplay priority level.
 6. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein saidrecording section stores the group record information on a nonvolatilerecording medium.
 7. Apparatus according to claim 1, further comprisingan input section for accepting an input from a user, and wherein saidobject priority level changing section changes said object displaypriority levels when said input section accepts an object priority levelchanging operation, and further wherein said group configurationchanging section changes said the association information stored in saidgroup configuration storage section when said input section accepts agroup configuration changing operation different from said objectpriority level changing operation.
 8. Apparatus according to claim 1further comprising an input section for accepting an input from a user,wherein said object priority level changing section changes the objectdisplay priority levels when said input section accepts an objectpriority level changing operation, and further wherein said group rankchanging section changes said group display priority levels stored insaid group priority level storage section when said input section accepta group rank changing operation different from said object prioritylevel changing operation.